WACK! Art and the
Feminist Revolution
4 Oct 2008 – 18 Jan 2009
Vancouver Art Gallery
Recent Press Coverage
The World's 50 Most Beautiful Gardens
Weekly Telegraph, 4 Sep 2008
Liz Lomax Talk at S.O.I.Richard Solomon Illustration Group, 1 May 2008
Last night Richard and the staff headed over to the Society of Illustrators for our "Evening with Liz Lomax." After an introduction by Dennis Dittrich, Liz spoke about her beginnings as a child artist, building well-appointed homes for her dolls and for her local caterpillars, and her early inspiration... Liz went on to talk about her path through art school, showed a few slides of her early 3D pieces, and spoke of her adult influences, including Niki de Saint Phalle and Red Grooms. [more]
Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot GardenEurope String, 30 April 2008
The highlight (well, one of several) of my recent trip to Italy was a visit to the Giardino dei Tarocchi, a whimsical, creative sculpture-filled garden created by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle. The garden is a bit of a drive north from Rome (or south from Siena), making it somewhat out-of-the-way for most tourists. But for fans of the artist's work, the trip (and the EUR 10.50 entrance fee) are more than worth it. Check the garden's web site for opening hours and days (it is closed for most of the winter). [more]
"Niki in the Garden" audio slideshowSt. Louis Post-Dispatch, 27 April 2008
Marcelo Zitelli, trustee of the Niki Charitable Art Foundation, talks about the new exhibition of sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle at the Missouri Botanical Garden, with illuminating comments on La Cabeza, the Guardian Lions, the Nikigator, Nana on a Dolphin, Les Trois Grâces, Le Temple Idéal, and the #23 Basketball Player. (audio slideshow) [more]
A transforming life: From model to "Nanas"St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 27 April 2008
Marking the opening of "Niki in the Garden" at the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Visual Arts Critic David Bonetti surveys the life of artist Niki de Saint Phalle — from her early association with the French Nouveau Réalistes and her sensational "shooting paintings" to her Nanas, the Tarot Garden in Tuscany, and other spectacular sculptures. (David Bonetti) [more]
Niki sculptures take root at the GardenSt. Louis Beacon, 23 April 2008
On Sunday, Niki in the Garden officially opens at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Special exhibitions manager Lynn Kerkemeyer wasn't sure what people would think of Niki's pieces, all sculptures made of fiberglass and mosaic or painted polyester. They explode, she said, with color, light and brightness. But for all their beauty, "they are very different from our formal garden." Already, though, "we're just seeing people of all ages absolutely loving it," said Karen Hagenow, public relations coordinator with the garden. "It's very accessible," she said. "Which is what's exciting about it." (Kristen Hare) [more]
Cavi and the giant skullSt. Louis Beacon, 22 April 2008
Past stretches of green grass at the Missouri Botanical Garden, around open tulips and emerging tree buds, sits a giant skull. Flashes of greens and yellows, oranges and reds pop out from glaring eye sockets. Nearly every inch sparkles under the Sunday sun. And there are voices. Three of them. Through the ear-like archway, Cavi Wilson listens as his words bounce from shiny spot to shiny spot, back into daylight through the space between bared teeth. Cavi, 5, stares up into a ceiling of blue glass circles and a white half moon. "Look," he says to his parents, Swati and Brent Wilson. "It looks like night there." (Kristen Hare) [more]
Queen Califia's Magical CircleThis Life Is Worth Living, 7 April 2008
I had been wanting to take the kids to go see it for awhile. It is beyond amazing! It's the last project created by Niki de Saint Phalle (born in France 1930-2002) and was inspired by California's mythic, historic and cultural roots. It is so special to visit and if you are ever near San Diego you should swing by and see it. [more]
Big skull makes its way to St. LouisBelleville News-Democrat, 5 April 2008
There was a six-ton skull rolling down the interstate Friday morning from Troy to St. Louis. The Missouri Botanical Gardens is getting ready for an outdoor exhibition of work by artist Niki de Saint Phalle. One of her pieces, La Cabeza, is a six-ton mosaic skull that was hauled to the gardens from the Chicago area Friday on a flatbed semi driven by Juan Arcuelo of Elgin. It drew a few looks. [more]
Reaping the benefitLiverpool Daily Post, 27 March 2008
Just three months into our year as Capital of Culture, and I think you will agree that we are already reaping the benefits. After the spectacular launch in January, the arts programme really has been hotting up and highlights so far have included the staging of Emilia di Liverpool, the Niki de Saint Phalle exhibition at Tate Liverpool, and the city having the proud honour of hosting this year’s National Holocaust Memorial Day. ... (Mark Thomas) [more]
The Herrenhausen GardensHanover News, 6 March 2008
The City of Hannover owes the Great Garden, a gem of baroque garden design, to Electress Sophia, Princess Palatine of the Rhine. Inspired by the Sun King Louis XIV, she had the almost 200-acre garden laid out in the French style at the end of the 17th century, and made it her life’s work. [...] The Grotto, which was transformed into a magical work of art, a place of sensuousness and joie de vivre, by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, exercises a magnetic attraction on visitors. Its rooms, lovingly and elaborately decorated with pebbles and fragments of glass and mirror, plunge the visitor into an unending play of colour, light and shadow. [more]
Art and flowersSan Jose Mercury (AP), 4 March 2008
Spring is the loveliest time of year to visit a public garden. But many botanical gardens offer additional reasons to visit — art shows and exhibits you might normally expect to find in a gallery or natural history museum. "Niki" is a pop-art-style show of 40 colorful mosaic sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle, from a six-ton head to a friendly alligator to a whimsical golfer, on display April 27 – October 31 at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. (Beth J. Harpaz, AP Travel Editor) [more]
Preparations for CeBITMonsters & Critics, 3 March 2008
Museum director Ulrich Krempel (right) shows the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso the art object "Petit monstre ou Espece de monstre" (1964) by artist Niki de Saint Phalle during a tour of the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Germany, 3 March 2008. In the evening of 3 March, Barroso will open the computer trade fair CeBIT in Hanover. [more]
Niki in the spotlight for Late At TateLiverpool Echo, 27 Feb 2008
Niki de Saint Phalle’s work is the subject of this month’s Late At Tate event at the Albert Dock gallery. Tate Liverpool will open until 9pm tomorrow for special events, music, food, drink and will invite visitors to reflect on Saint Phalle’s work, currently the subject of a Tate Liverpool exhibition. (Catherine Jones) [more]
Niki de Saint Phalle: The power of playfulnessDaily Telegraph, 26 Feb 2008
"Nana Power," a show-stopping image of the artist Niki de Saint Phalle in which she points a gun at the camera, kicks off a major retrospective of her work at Tate Liverpool — the first in the UK since Saint Phalle's death in 2002.
The exhibition is a glorious revelation. Saint Phalle is often dismissed as "playful," despite her collaborations with figures such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg and a vast legacy of works in some of the world's most high-profile institutions. Yet, as the vibrant examples selected from each of the different phases of her career attest, Saint Phalle could also be boldly provocative. (Jane Neal) [more]
Le Pop Art européen à l'honneur à ZurichTélévision Suisse Romande, 14 février 2008
Le Kunstmuseum de Zurich présente du 15 février au 15 mai l'exposition "Europop" qui regroupe plus de 80 oeuvres réalisées par des artistes de dix pays européens, organisées autour de quatre thèmes: consommation, spectacle, médias et loisirs. Parmi les artistes: David Hockney, Niki de Saint Phalle, Sigmar Polke, Peter Blake ou encore Allen Jones. L'exposition montre aussi "quelques oeuvres remarquables" du "Pop Art" américain réalisées par Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann et Roy Lichtenstein. [more]
Get back ... to Liverpool!Le Figaro / Madame, 11 février 2008
On se précipite à la Tate Liverpool pour les œuvres de Niki de Saint Phalle. Le musée, qui présente la plus importante collection d’art contemporain anglaise en dehors de Londres, consacre une belle rétrospective à l’artiste française. De ses premiers assemblages des années 50 à ses fameuses Nanas, en passant par son travail avec le Suisse Jean Tinguely. (Christian Luc-Parison) [more]
French sculptress makes splash at British galleryAFP, 1 Feb 2008
The exuberant work of French artist and sculptress Niki de Saint Phalle went on display at the Liverpool Tate on Friday, bringing colour and verve to the gallery. The retrospective covers more than half a century of work by de Saint Phalle, whose arresting Gaudi-esque work graces buildings worldwide from the Pompidou Centre in Paris to California. [more]
Model approach to the world of artLiverpool Daily Post, 1 Feb 2008
She was creating art until her death in 2002, at the age of 71, leaving behind a bewildering collection of paintings, sculptures and her own sculpture garden. But was the self-taught artist a lightweight or an important figure in 20th-century art? The debate continues, although the art world has been coming round to the latter opinion — one underlined by a major retrospective which opens at Tate Liverpool today. (Philip Key) [more]
A terrible energyGuardian Unlimited, 31 Jan 2008
Niki de Saint Phalle's early work played safe. Then she threw darts at a portrait of her lover. Then she bought a gun. Jonathan Jones on a demonic provocateur. [more]
Les sculptures de Niki de Saint Phalle envahissent la Tate LiverpoolAFP, 31 janvier 2008
Les sculptures de Niki de Saint Phalle, de ses tristes "Fiancées" aux exubérantes "Nanas", ont envahi la Tate de Liverpool pour la plus grande exposition jamais consacrée à l'artiste française en Grande-Bretagne. [more]
Psychedelic art and the man with a third earLiverpool Daily Post, 31 Jan 2008
The first two major art exhibitions of the Capital of Culture year open this week. Tate Liverpool hosts a retrospective look at the work of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, the first in the UK since her death in 2002. (Vicky Anderson) [more]
Manoir du DragonCosmopolis, 4 Feb 2008
In the beachside casino, the collector Roger Nellens has organized many exhibitions ranging from Man Ray to Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalì, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall and César. In Nellens' house once lived the American artist Keith Haring. In his garden, you can admire a dragon by Niki de Saint Phalle. [more]
Les Nouveaux Réalistes en majestéLes Echos, 25 janvier 2008
A l'époque, un peu avant 1968, Niki de Saint-Phalle remarquait que "l'esprit général est à la destruction". Arman brûle un fauteuil en 1965 dans "Après le temps menaçant", découpe un violon en 1962 pour "Sarasate Gipsy Hair", mais conserve et met sous Plexiglass des déchets comme dans "Poubelles des Halles", de 1961, considéré comme une "archéologie du présent". (Judith Benhamou-Huet) [more]
La Femme NikiThe Stranger, 22 Jan 2008
But there’s another, far lesser-known Niki de Saint Phalle: Niki the Shooter. According to the Tate Modern's web site, de Saint Phalle started attaching paint-filled bags to backings and shooting them in 1960 — and she stopped in 1963, saying, "I had become addicted to shooting." (Jen Graves) [more]
François Pérol, secrétaire général adjoint de l'ElyséeChallenges, 17 janvier 2008
Il aime le moderne, comme en témoignent les tableaux de Niki de Saint Phalle qui ornent son bureau et dont il offre une lecture à la cantonade : «Then I will be a fantastic monument for your tomb... and then I will forget you» («alors je serai un fantastique monument pour votre tombe... et alors je vous oublierai»). (Odile Benyahia-Kouider) [more]
La fontaine Stravinsky réarticuléeFigaroscope, 27 novembre 2007
La Ville de Paris, en charge de l'entretien depuis fin 2005, vient de terminer la première phase des travaux qui consistait à remplacer le programme informatique commandant les mouvements des seize statues. Le programme de restauration ne s'arrête pas là. [more]
Les Nanas de NikiLa Tribune, 5 octobre 2007
Les sculptures de l'artiste franco-américaine Niki de Saint Phalle sont très recherchées. Les plus connues sont celles qui représentent des femmes colorées aux rondeurs épanouies. Les prix s'envolent. (Jérome Stern) [more]
La fontaine Stravinsky va être réparéeLe Journal du Dimanche, 1 juillet 2007
Bonne nouvelle pour le quartier Beaubourg. (Antoine Debièvre) [more]
Sauvez la fontaine de Niki!Le Journal du Dimanche, 24 juin 2007
La célèbre fontaine de Beaubourg est en piteux état. (Antoine Debièvre) [more]
I was an angry young woman… I became an artist because I had no alternative. It was my fate. I embraced art as my salvation and my necessity.